Reference Points: The Art of Self-Coaching

by Monty Basnyat

During a match, have you ever found yourself in a state of frustration and anger because your favorite shot, you know, that forehand drive you hit so well in practice, has completely deserted you? And it keeps getting worse, so that your blood rushes all the way up to your head making you so tense you can barely move your feet at all.

As competitive tennis players, I think we’ve all experienced this feeling at one point or another. The only difference is, the better players don’t reach this boiling point as often because they have a better understanding of their own games. They know how to regulate themselves.

After years of suffering and frustration both as a competitive player as well as a teacher, I may have found a solution. It started one day when I happened to glance at an article written by Peter Burwash, where he talks about getting back to your basics when your stroke leaves you - he called it, “check points.”

Click photo to hear Lindsay Davenport's talk her serve.

I was so fascinated; I started my own list as an experiment. And I am telling you it works; both at the pro level and for the weekend warrior. All it takes is a little bit of patience and discipline. Call them what you want, “check points,” “reference points” or “getting back to basics,” no competitive club or tournament player should go on the court without an understanding of their own reference point list.

What is Self-coaching?

Self–coaching is the ability to figure out what is going right or wrong on the court during a particular match. Why a stroke breaks down and how to make the necessary adjustments to get back that feeling of smoothness and confidence when it does.

Let’s face it, everyone’s stroke breaks down at times, even on the pro level. The difference is, pros know how to right themselves. Most club players get frustrated because they don’t understand what’s causing the breakdown. All they know is that it’s 2 all in the third set and once again their serve has suddenly taken a trip to Mexico leaving them holding the loot.

Lindsay’s serve reference point – “make sure to push up with the left leg.”

So one minute you’re pounding out smooth, deep groundstrokes from corner to corner and the next you’re like a beginner playing with a wooden racquet, clumsy, lead footed, and without a clue in the world.

What you do next will often determine the outcome of a match and the enjoyment of your experience on the court in general.

What you must understand is that when your stroke leaves you, it’s usually the same one or two problems that keep popping up over and over again. The secret is to become aware of what your problem areas are and put a routine in place to repair them, even during a pressure filled match.

Even top pros like Lindsey Davenport, who possesses one of the biggest serves on the WTA tour, has a reference point that she refers to when not serving well.

Due to an injury to her left foot, she looses rhythm on her serve because she either forgets or is unable to push up with that foot. This left foot push off is the beginning of a kinetic chain that allows her to crank out 110 mph serves on a consistent basis. It’s the reference point she refers to when she needs to quickly right her serve.

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